The Recap Of Daredevil's Dad You Need While Watching 'The Defenders'

The Defenders may be the newest Marvel series, but it includes some emotional deep cuts to the very first few episodes of the first Marvel show to stream on Netflix. In Episode 6 of The Defenders, Jessica Jones gives us a little reminder about Matt Murdock's origin story by bringing up his deceased father. While comforting another character who recently lost her dad, Jones uses Murdock's story as an example of how to cope with losing a seemingly distant father who turned out to be a hero after all. It's a nice sentiment, but since the first season of Daredevil aired such a long time ago, viewers may have forgotten the story of Jack Murdock. Here's a quick refresher for everyone asking: What happened to Daredevil's dad?

Jack Murdock raised Matt as a single father. He was a boxer, and would make money by accepting bribes from the mob to throw his matches. This meant he would often come home badly beaten, and Matt would have to tend to his father's wounds. Ashamed of how Matt perceived him due to always losing his fights, Jack eventually decided to go against the mobsters telling him to throw his match, and actually fight to win for once.

In a brief moment of triumph, Jack finally wins a match, but quickly runs out of the gym to avoid being confronted by the jilted mobsters who had bribed him. As the crowd continued to chant his name, Jack was shot and killed by the mob, and Matt finds his dead body outside the gym.

Jessica Jones bringing up the story next to Matt in The Defenders is a small but meaningful moment of bonding between them. She later reveals, true to her status as a master private eye, she learned about Matt's father by doing extensive research on him after they first met.